Gasol has two years left on his contract, worth $38.3 million. Though he became the subject of many trade rumors last year following the nixed Chris Paul deal, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said last week not to expect the front office to become "active" leading up to the Feb.21 trade deadline.

Shipping Gasol could also be troublesome because of the possibility Dwight Howard bolts once he becomes a free agent this offseason.

The Los Angeles Lakers got another win Tuesday by beating the New Orleans Hornets 111-106, but they might have lost some of the team cohesion they built up over the course of their three-game winning streak.

In what has become a recurring theme since Mike D'Antoni took over as Lakers coach, forward Pau Gasol was benched in the fourth quarter against New Orleans.

The former four-time All-Star, who recently bristled when moved to a bench role as D'Antoni placed Earl Clark in the starting lineup, expressed his displeasure after the game.

"I'm a competitor, I'm a guy that thinks I bring a lot to the table, and not being on the floor is something that I don't like, I don't appreciate," Gasol said.

If you look at Pau's free throw shooting and his body language you can see he is clearly shaken up....we need to either use him properly or set him free.

Absolutely. What sense does it make to pay a guy 19 million to be 6th man? You pay that type of money to a player you build your team around. 'antoni clearly doesn't have Gasol as part of his plans. He needs to be traded for pieces the Lakers can use. Also, Pau has been a pro about this situation. I think the franchise owes it to him to let him go somewhere he will be used.